The invention relates to a production installation for the manufacture of a product, in particular a chemical product or an educt, with a process directing system, which has input/output consoles and process computers, through which system the process stages, which occur in the individual production apparatus and equipment of the production installation for the production of an end product from the raw materials which are fed in, are able to be monitored and controlled by means of sensors and actuators.
Such installations with directing systems are known and are used within the framework of attempts at a further rationalisation in production. If a production installation is to be used not to continuously manufacture the same product, but rather in succession batches of various products, it is necessary to change over the installation accordingly, in which the changeover times on changing the processes for the production of chemical products are frequently in the order of from four to six weeks. During this time, the production installation is out of operation, which is undesirable on grounds of manufacturing economy.
From the GB-A-2 127 586 a method and a device are known for the electronic regulation of a modular system, which in its entirety forms a function unit, and the function modules of which are able to be regulated individually. Self-sufficiently operating regulators are associated with the individual function modules in each case, which regulators are connected with a directing computer, which provides nominal values to the individual regulation circuits for optimization of the overall system according to the case of operation and application, which nominal values are determined by the directing computer according to predetermined criteria for the respective case of application from measurement values and also from external control signals. In an example embodiment of the known device for the regulation of modular systems, the function modules consist of a power engine, a power converter and a driven machine for an application in a power station. In another example embodiment, the function unit is not a power station, but rather a motor vehicle, the first function module of which is a diesel engine and the second function module of which is a gear unit. Self-sufficiently operating regulators are associated with both function modules, which regulators are provided by the directing computer with nominal values corresponding to the respectively existing conditions. As the regulators operate self-sufficiently, in the case of repairs a brief interruption of the supply of new nominal values can be tolerated.
From an article by B. I. Brost, which appeared in Regelungstechnische Praxis 26, (1984) May, Vol. 5, pages 226 to 231, under the title "Prozessfuhrungssystem (=Process directing system) TDC 3000" it is known to connect function modules as carriers of system-specific capacities with each other via a local data network. The process directing system allows the process data from production units to be linked with all commercial information serving to direct the operators, in which all installations of process technology are included as the target of application. As specific function modules, a historic archive module is provided for the storage of all process data, and also an application module is provided, which is a function component which is able to be configured and programmed. All process data and information can be processed and displayed away from the installation in a single operating console. In the process guiding system TDC 3000, the tasks hitherto carried out by a large computer are taken over by decentral function modules, onto which time-intensive calculating functions are distributed.
In Regelungstechnische Praxis 26 (1984) November, Vol. 11, under the title "Procontrol I, ein dezentrales Industrieleitsystem" (=a decentral industry directing system), W. Muller describes a system structure for a digital and decentral industry directing system, which is intended primarily for use in installations in the fields of chemistry, drinking water, sewage, iron and steel production, rolling mills and processing industry, and covers all functions of directing technology in its system components, which are of modular design and are coordinated with each other. With the known decentral industry directing systems, heirarchically graduated, spatially distributed directing installations can be composed, in which at the central site and during operation the configuration data can be provided and read back.